One Finger Orchestra

What it is

One Finger Orchestra is a play-along music app for Android. The key you should press lights up, and bars falling toward the keyboard show when to press it. Follow them with one finger and the rest of the arrangement plays around you: strings, brass, woodwinds, drums and bass come in on their own parts, so a few taps sound like a full orchestra. The app is in English.

Problem it solves

Piano tile games let you tap along, but any lane plays the next note, so it never feels like playing a real keyboard. Piano lessons feel like real playing, but it takes months before anything sounds good. One Finger Orchestra sits in between: the keys are real keys, higher notes are always to the right, and the backing band makes your part sound finished from the first try.

Core loop

• Pick a song, then the part you want to play (Melody, Bass or Chords) and your sound.
• Choose how many keys to play with: 5, 8, 13 or 25. With more keys the screen gets closer to a real keyboard and you play more of the notes yourself.
• Play in Wait mode, where the music waits for the right key, or in Rhythm mode, with a steady tempo, timing judgments and a combo.
• Earn three different stars: Accuracy, Timing and Expression, which rewards holding each note as long as it is written.

Main features

• Sounds to play with: Grand Piano, E.Piano, Organ, Strings, Synth Lead, Music Box, Brass and Flute to start. New sounds arrive without an app update.
• An orchestra stage above the keys, where each section lights up while its part is playing.
• A different mood for each song: a candle-lit concert hall for classical pieces, a neon stage for upbeat arrangements, a sunny paper theater for folk songs and lullabies, and a snowy village for carols.
• New songs appear without an app update. The next scheduled song waits on the home screen with a countdown, and you can choose to get a notification when it comes out.
• Free Play: a keyboard with every sound, for playing by ear.
• Connect a USB or Bluetooth MIDI keyboard and follow the lights on real keys.

Product decisions

• Your part only plays the notes you play. A missed note stays silent, so what you hear is really your performance, while the backing parts keep going.
• Each note's loudness comes from the arrangement, so your part keeps its dynamics even though a touchscreen cannot sense how hard you press.
• On the easier levels, one tap on the top note plays the whole chord of that beat. Higher levels hand you more of the notes.
• The songs are public-domain classics, folk songs and carols, arranged for the app.

Pricing

Free, with no ads and no purchases. No account is needed. Songs, sounds and themes download the first time you use them and then play offline.

Next hypotheses

Measure which part and how many keys new players choose first, and whether Wait mode leads them on to Rhythm mode.

Support and privacy

• Contact: hello@mrlatte.net or the contact page
• Privacy policy: The privacy policy explains what the app keeps on your device, what it downloads and sends, and how to delete it.